Coco

Scott Hardie: Damn, that's some high praise! I figured I would get around to seeing this sooner or later, but now I think I'll make it a priority. − December 2, 2017 • more by Scott

Samir Mehta: SO glad you liked it! I'm just amazed by this movie. One thing that I adored about it (and take more seriously as a father who watched it with a three-year-old) is how well the movie explores death in an honest, but safe way. That's a tricky feat and they do it deftly - by leveraging the concept of the Land of the Dead and the land of the Final Death (where the forgotten go), they make the first death seem less scary while acknowledging that somehow, we all do disappear eventually. My son had a visible, sincere reaction to it all - I know it's often commonplace to denigrate "kid's" art, but I'm realizing now that it takes a whole different level of artistry to pack material into a package a child can receive.

Amazing. − December 28, 2017 • more by Samir

Scott Hardie: Yes! I was surprised for a moment when they showed one character's (bloodless) death on screen, but of course the whole movie is about death, and it's not a subject that kids get to hear much about in their media. Good for Pixar for taking on this subject matter and not having it be awkward in the least. I suppose there must be some religious audiences out there who are opposed to this portrayal of the afterlife, but if Chinese censors can be moved to set aside their values and accept the film as it is, presumably anyone can.

Seeing several trailers for truly dreadful-looking kids movies made me appreciate Coco even more. That's why I rarely watch family films, because most of them are full of lazy fart jokes for the kids; Pixar (with rare exceptions like Cars) tries to make films that appeal to all ages. They're also light years ahead of their competitors in terms of telling stories about subjects that matter, with complex feelings. Those crappy trailers also made me appreciate that I'm not a parent and won't get dragged into seeing dreck like that; you and other parents have my sympathy. :-PThis reply contains spoilers. Reveal it. − December 29, 2017 • more by Scott

Evie Totty: I've been waiting for a good day to take my granddaughter to see this (she's at her father's weekends) and won't get to see it until next week. I have a feeling it would be toward the top of my 'Best of 2017' list if I'd had the chance to see it before the end of the year... − December 30, 2017 • more by Evie